VITTER 2.0: SENATOR MAKES MOVES TOWARD GOVERNOR’S RACE – Scott Wong and Patrick Reis report for the hometown paper: “David Vitter is stepping up his attacks on Wall Street, slamming President Barack Obama’s oil policies and vowing to use a new committee perch to speed up unfinished levee work — issues that play well back home in Louisiana and could boost a possible bid for the governor’s mansion. Call it the rehabilitation of Sen. Vitter. Since an embarrassing sex scandal in 2007, the Louisiana Republican has lain low, ducking reporters at the Capitol and largely avoiding the media spotlight. But Vitter has weathered a Category 3 public relations disaster that would have ruined most politicians. Voters shrugged at the scandal and overwhelmingly reelected him to a second term, and polls show he leads the field of potential candidates in the 2015 governor’s race. And he even has a new super PAC supporting him. Now, it seems, he’s raising his profile in an effort to salvage his reputation and remake his public image.

-- “Vitter backers on Monday filed paperwork with state and federal agencies to launch a super PAC that could raise money for either a 2015 gubernatorial bid or Vitter’s 2016 reelection campaign … [But] he insisted he hasn’t thought about the race to succeed two-term GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal for one ‘millisecond.’ A Magellan Strategies poll from last fall showed Vitter leading Democratic New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, GOP Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and other possible contenders. But Vitter called such surveys ‘distracting’ and unhelpful. ‘I think it’s insanely early to focus on that. I’m not thinking about it. Will I be thinking about it in a year? I honestly don’t know because I haven’t even started thinking about whether I want to think about it,’ he said in the interview.” http://politi.co/YAk11K

THE IMMIGRATION TANGO – Carrie Budoff Brown and Kate Nocera write for the hometown paper: “John McCain and Marco Rubio weren’t going to follow President Barack Obama’s lead. When the White House announced that Obama would open a campaign for immigration reform with an event in Las Vegas Tuesday, the Republican senators and their bipartisan working group decided to rush out their plan ahead of him on Monday, according to sources familiar with the effort. This game of leap frog was a preview of the personal politics that undergird the push this year to overhaul the immigration system. Whether he likes it or not, the president’s top legislative priority rests in the hands of McCain, his former 2008 rival, and Rubio, one of GOP’s leading candidates to take back the White House in 2016. That means the odds of passing a bill depend on whether the key players can not only resolve major policy differences, but navigate the tricky dynamics among them.

-- “The long-term stakes are enormous. For Obama, it’s about cementing his party’s lock on the Hispanic vote and finally making good on an unfilled campaign promise from his first run. For McCain and Rubio, it’s about redeeming their party with one of the country’s fastest-growing voting blocs whose alienation threatens to freeze Republicans out of the White House for years to come.

-- “Both parties want Latino voters to give them the credit for solving the problem — or at the very least, absolve them of the blame if nothing comes to pass. At the same time, Obama, McCain and Rubio each face a crucial calculation of their own — how much jockeying they’re going to do and how much credit they’ll be willing to share across their personal and political divides to get the deal they all say they want done.” http://politi.co/X5p3Na

-- AT 2:35 P.M. ET AT DEL SOL HIGH SCHOOL IN LAS VEGAS, Obama delivers remarks on “the need to fix the broken immigration system so that it is fairer for and helps grow the middle class by ensuring everyone plays by the same rules.”

SCHUMER AND McCAIN: IMMIGRATION’S ODD COUPLE – POLITICO’s Manu Raju has the tick-tock of how the Gang of Eight deal got done: “A few days after Republicans took an electoral beating from Hispanic voters, Sen. Lindsey Graham made a phone call to Sen. Chuck Schumer. The South Carolina Republican wanted to restart the stalled talks with Schumer on immigration from a couple years back. But this time, he noted, his closest Senate friend was ready to reengage in the emotionally charged issue: John McCain. ‘My heart skipped a beat,’ Schumer told Graham, according to a person familiar with the call.

-- “McCain and Schumer are two Senate heavyweightswho had never developed much of a relationship. The Arizona Republican previously would criticize the shrewd New Yorker’s motives and the Democrat attacked McCain during the 2008 presidential elections. But over the course of five meetings in their respective offices culminating in a deal-making session last Wednesday, the two men quickly developed a close relationship now at the center of the high-stakes immigration debate. McCain grew tight with Schumer after the two men helped defuse a partisan war over the filibuster, which served as a basis of trust for the immigration talks. … McCain said Monday that the electoral politics of the issue had changed and that his party needs to adapt on immigration if it wants to lure Latino voters. Schumer told POLITICO that the turning point in the talks came ‘when there was a realization that a path to citizenship was a necessity.’” http://politi.co/YAnCNm

YOU’RE INVITED: HOW THE GANG PULLED IT OFF -- Sen. John McCain and Sen. Chuck Schumer will take us behind the scenes at 8 a.m. Wednesday, during a Playbook Breakfast conversation with Mike Allen, with Manu Raju joining the festivities, at the W Hotel in downtown D.C. Please RSVP here. http://bit.ly/McCainandSchumerPlaybook

Washington Post, A1, “Obama to announce plan for immigrants,” By David Nakamura and Rosalind S. Helderman: “The Obama administration has developed its own proposals for immigration reform that are more liberal than a separate bipartisan effort in the Senate, including a quicker path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, people with knowledge of the proposals said. … Obama plans to praise the proposals laid out Monday by an eight-member Senate working group, saying they reflect the core tenets of the administration’s immigration blueprint developed in 2011, a senior administration official said. But the president’s remarks also are likely to emphasize differences that could foreshadow roadblocks to passage in Congress at a time when both parties say there is momentum for a comprehensive deal.

-- “For example, the Senate proposal would let illegal immigrants obtain legal residency quickly. But it would not allow them to seek full citizenship until border security had been improved and a new system was in place for employers to verify the employment status of workers. Obama will not endorse such a proposal … The president intends to make clear the need for a more straightforward route for un­documented workers and students to obtain citizenship, reflecting fears among advocates that a cumbersome process would create a decades-long wait for some migrants.” http://wapo.st/WuK47R

WSJ EDITORIAL BOARD: IMMIGRATION FRAMEWORK A ‘BREAKTHROUGH’ – “The agreement is a breakthrough because it includes compromises from both Republicans and Democrats that, at least in principle, address the main obstacles that have killed reform in the past. The most politically potent of those issues is what to do about the 11 million illegals currently in the U.S. But more important for the country's future is admitting more immigrants, both high- and low-skilled, and creating a process that lets them enter and leave legally as economic opportunities ebb and flow. This will be the action to watch. …

-- “[T]he question is whether [Obama] wants an achievement or a political issue. If he wants a genuine reform, the Senate framework shows how much Republicans have already moved his way. GOP leaders can read the 2012 exit polls, and thanks to the persuasion of Mr. Rubio, Jeb Bush and a few others, more conservatives are now more amenable to reform. Yet neither Mr. Obama nor his White House have reached out to Mr. Rubio, and many Democrats want to use the immigration issue to drive turnout in election after election. Their goal is to have a legislative dance and then blame Republicans for killing reform sometime in 2014. If that is Mr. Obama's real goal, he'll demand too much—by gutting the guest-worker program again or complicating it with too much bureaucracy, or by insisting on a quick and easy path to citizenship for illegals. Mr. Obama will have to decide if he wants a legacy of reform, or more partisanship.” http://on.wsj.com/T4AHM2

RUBIO ON HANNITY: TRIGGER IS ‘CRITICALLY IMPORTANT’ – “I don’t want to ever have to do this again. But that’s what’s gonna happen if all we do is the legalization part and we don’t do the enforcement part. And the only way that I know to incentivize the enforcement part is to say that the green card stuff doesn’t even begin to happen until the enforcement happens first. That trigger is critically important. Otherwise it will never happen. … When they did this in 1986, they did not do the enforcement, and that led to 11 million people – we’ll be right back here in 10 years or less if we don’t do the enforcement part.” http://youtu.be/qclLazWFdu4

RUSH: ‘WE’VE DONE AMNESTY BEFORE’ – Conservative talk radio host came out against the immigration plan Monday. the Huffington Post reports. “‘We've done this before. We've done amnesty before,’ said Limbaugh. ‘This immigration bill that everybody's touting on TV today is essentially the Bush immigration bill that was beat back in 2007.’ Limbaugh announced that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla), one of the eight senators driving the new proposal, will be interviewed on his show Tuesday.” http://huff.to/UzAkby

-- McCain was quite amused with himself at Monday’s immigration news conference after Sens. Rubio and Bob Menendez translated their remarks in Spanish. “Vamanos!” McCain blurted out at one point, filling the room with laughter. Later at votes, the Arizona senator was still at it: “Vamanos, arriba, taco!” he told reporters before ducking into an elevator.

TRANSITIONS: HOYER GETS NEW SPOX -- House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer will announce later today that Stephanie L. Young will be joining his leadership office as press secretary. She joins Communications Director Katie Grant and Maryland Press Secretary Mariel Saez in serving as a spokesperson for Hoyer. Young most recently served as director of constituency press for the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee and, prior to that, as the director of regional press in Florida for President Obama's re-election campaign. She returns to Capitol Hill, having earlier served as communications director for the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). "She brings strong experience to my staff from her time on the Obama campaign and with the Congressional Black Caucus, and I know she will help House Democrats continue to communicate effectively our agenda of job-creation, fiscal discipline, and the growth of middle-class opportunities,” Hoyer said.

CHEN GUANGCHENG ON THE HILL – Actor Richard Gere, Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Annette Lantos will award blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Prize at 11 a.m. in the Congressional Auditorium at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center. He will be honored “for his tireless work promoting human rights and the rule of law in China.”

MD, CA SENATORS PLACE FRIENDLY SUPER BOWL BET – Maryland Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin made a high-stakes wager with Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer heading into Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. They're wagering East Coast vs. West Coast crab. Cardin said his team will wager Faidley’s crab cakes from Baltimore’s Lexington Market, Berger cookies made in the Cherry Hill neighborhood of Baltimore and Heavy Seas beer brewed in Lansdowne. Senator Mikulski will also throw in a can of one of Baltimore’s favorite hair sprays. The California senators are offering a San Francisco feast: Dungeness crab, Napa Valley wine, sourdough bread and a selection of Northern California cheeses.

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GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 29, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

My new followers include but are not limited to ‏@evanperez and @MDempseyDC.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The House is out this week. The Senate is in at 10 a.m. and will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m. for weekly party caucus lunches. The full Senate is expected to consider the nomination of Sen. John Kerry to be secretary of State, following the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s vote on the nomination at 10 a.m. in S-116.

FAVORS FOR REID IN CLIFF DEAL? -- Alicia Mundy reports for the Wall Street Journal: “The New Year's Day legislation that averted tax increases for millions of Americans brought an unwelcome surprise for Elekta AB, a Swedish maker of radiation tools designed to battle brain tumors. A provision, inserted at the last minute, sharply cut Medicare payments for the company's product while leaving unchanged those of its direct competitor, Varian Medical Systems Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif. Varian lobbyists pushed for the change, according to congressional staff and other lobbyists, which was put through by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.). Under the change, payments for hospital outpatient surgeries using Elekta's technology would drop by 58%, news that knocked the company's stock sharply through early January. ‘We were shocked when we heard about the change,’ said Elekta's U.S. chief, Jay Hoey. Varian Chief Executive Dow Wilson told investors on a call ‘we're excited’ because the Medicare cut ‘levels the playing field.’

-- “The insert looks like the kind of provision helping a specific company or industry that lawmakers have repeatedly vowed to halt. Nonetheless, even in the budget bill tackling the so-called fiscal cliff, lawmakers found time to craft such provisions. … Mr. Reid has a deep relationship with Varian. About nine years ago, he secured federal funding for Varian to work with the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, according to Oliver Hemmers, the center's director. The project looked at technologies that could X-ray cargo shipments as part of antiterror efforts. The U.S. Department of Energy later transferred Varian's equipment to UNLV, and Varian has donated further equipment worth at least $1 million, said Dr. Hemmers. Varian and UNLV are now partnering on a multimillion-dollar Accelerator Center for research in the national-security, health and energy sectors that could create thousands of jobs in Nevada and has commercial potential for the company, Dr. Hemmers said.

-- “Adam Jentleson, a Reid spokesman,said the senator would have preferred the sequester delay wasn't offset with spending cuts. Because it was, this provision was ‘obvious,’ he said. ‘It saved money, restored equity to an unfair payment regime, and most importantly, it protects Nevada jobs,’ he said.” http://on.wsj.com/WyM4c1

POLL: McCONNELL FOES OUTNUMBER SUPPORTERS -- Joseph Gerth writes for the Louisville Courier-Journal: “With his re-election bid just a year away, those opposed to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell outnumber his supporters 2-1 among Kentucky voters, according to the latest Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll. In the poll of 609 registered voters, 34 percent said they plan to vote against McConnell — while just 17 percent say they will vote to give him six more years. Forty-four percent said they will wait to see who is running against him before deciding, and 6 percent said they are not sure. … [The poll] comes as groups on both McConnell’s right and left seek candidates to challenge him in the primary and general elections in 2014. McConnell, the most powerful Republican in the Senate as minority leader, is seeking his sixth term. Jesse Benton, McConnell’s campaign manager, dismissed the poll as ‘nothing more than an irresponsible way to stir up cheap headlines.’” http://cjky.it/VPABpZ

OBAMA TO SIGN $51B IN SANDY AID – Raymond Hernandez writes for the NYT: “Congress gave final approval on Monday to an emergency aid package of nearly $51 billion to help millions of victims of Hurricane Sandy, ending the legislation’s long and complicated odyssey. By a 62-to-36 vote, the Senate approved the measure, with 9 Republicans joining 53 Democrats to support it. The House recently passed the bill, 241 to 180, after initially refusing to act on it amid objections from fiscal conservatives over its size and its impact on the federal deficit. … The money will provide aid to people whose homes were damaged or destroyed, as well as to business owners who had heavy losses. It will also pay for replenishing shorelines, repairing subway and commuter rail systems, fixing bridges and tunnels, and reimbursing local governments for emergency spending. President Obama praised the vote, saying, ‘I commend Congress for giving families and businesses the help they deserve, and I will sign this bill into law as soon as it hits my desk.’” http://nyti.ms/119ypyQ

COULD KING WIN IOWA SENATE SEAT? – Jake Sherman and James Hohmann report for POLITICO: “Conservative Rep. Steve King is seriously considering a run for the Iowa Senate seat being vacated by Tom Harkin, and even Republicans who worry that he would struggle in a general election acknowledge that the tea party favorite would enter the race as the front-runner for the GOP nomination. In an interview with POLITICO, King said he was considering challenging Harkin before the Democrat announced his retirement. Now, he said he is fielding nearly nonstop calls and requests for meetings. ‘As I was processing that decision before Tom Harkin made this announcement, this accelerates that processing,’ King said Monday. ‘It’s going to take some time to be able to determine what level of support would be out there.’ Sources close to King said they would be surprised if he passes on the chance to run statewide, especially after winning reelection in convincing fashion in November.” http://politi.co/14p5MNL

HAGEL EARNED $1M LAST YEAR – Tim Mak reports: “Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel made more than $1 million in the last year serving on various boards and organizations, financial disclosures released Monday show. The former Republican senator from Nebraska received $100,000 as a professor at Georgetown University, $100,000 in fees for serving on the advisory board of Deutsche Bank, $200,000 for being on the advisory board of Corsair Capital, $200,000 as a director of Zurich Insurance Group and $120,000 as a special adviser to M.I.C. Industries. He also received $120,000 as senior adviser to the polling firm Gallup, headquartered in Omaha, Neb., his home state. McCarthy Capital, the Omaha firm where Hagel was president before he was elected to the Senate in 1996, also paid him $100,000 in adviser fees over the past year. … A preliminary review of his holdings indicates assets of $2.865 million to $6.1 million. He did not report any liabilities over $10,000.” http://politi.co/125N6D6

SCHUMER: LEAVE BEYONCE ALONE – McKay Coppins reports for BuzzFeed: “New York Senator Chuck Schumer has nothing but love for Beyoncé and thinks ‘lip-sync-gate is a big nothingburger,’ a person close to the New York senator and inauguration chairman told BuzzFeed. Despite a report in New York Post Monday that Schumer was ‘angrily’ demanding an apology from the pop star for allegedly lip-synching during the inauguration — a performance the senator is credited with arranging — the Schumer source insisted he had no beef. ‘He wishes people would leave Beyoncé alone. She performed for free, and it was a thrill to have her at the ceremony. Just look at his face during her performance! He'd have her back in a New York minute,’ the source said. ‘He has been friendly with Beyoncé and Jay-Z since they met at the Jelly concerts a few years back.’” http://bit.ly/14qcbrc

MONDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Rob Wavra of Sentinel HS Group was first to correctly answer that in addition to Lyndon Johnson, the three other men to serve as a congressman, senator, vice president, and president were Richard Nixon, Andrew Johnson and John Tyler.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Karl Cooper has today’s question: Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin announced his plans not to seek a sixth term in 2014. This means that unless Sen. Chuck Grassley leaves office early, Harkin will have spent his entire 30 year career in the Senate as the junior senator from Iowa. However, this is not the record. Who holds the record for serving the longest as a state’s junior senator?

First to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/

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Authors:

About The Author

Scott Wong covers transportation for POLITICO Pro, and authors The Huddle, POLITICO’s popular morning tipsheet on Congress. He was a congressional reporter with the publication from 2010 to 2012.

He reported from Tucson, Ariz., after the deadly shooting rampage that severely injured Rep. Gabby Giffords and helped break a story about Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill’s private plane that led to her admission she owed more than $300,000 in state property taxes.

He got his professional start in journalism covering local government for two small newspapers in his native San Francisco Bay Area. He later became a staff writer for The Arizona Republic, where he covered the Arizona statehouse and Phoenix City Hall.

After graduating from UCLA, he spent a year teaching English in a rural mountain village in Japan. He is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association, and lives with his wife and daughter in Washington.